Author: BBC

Parents are being urged to get their children vaccinated against flu over half-term as the NHS warned of rising cases of the disease.There is an early flu season, health officials say, and the latest data for England showed cases and hospitalisations were increasing.NHS England said many school children will have already received the vaccine at school but there are still options for those who have not, including pop-up clinics.GP surgeries can give flu vaccines to school-aged children with certain health conditions, as well as two to three year olds, while preschoolers can also be taken to pharmacies for the vaccine.Most…

Bethan LewisEducation & family correspondent, BBC Wales NewsRobin LloydRobin Lloyd said moving a few miles across the border meant she could now afford to have a second childFrom her Monmouthshire home, Robin Lloyd was able to see houses over the border in England knowing the families who lived there could access free childcare for their babies.Robin and her husband decided to leave Chepstow and Wales and moved a 30-minute drive away to Gloucestershire so they would be eligible for support for children from nine months old.In Wales, free childcare for two-year-olds is being expanded, prioritising disadvantaged areas but there is…

A US teenager was handcuffed by armed police after an artificial intelligence (AI) system mistakenly said he was carrying a gun – when really he was holding a packet of crisps. “Police showed up, like eight cop cars, and then they all came out with guns pointed at me talking about getting on the ground,” 16-year-old Baltimore pupil Taki Allen told local outlet WMAR-2 News. Baltimore County Police Department said their officers “responded appropriately and proportionally based on the information provided at the time”.It said the AI alert was sent to human reviewers who found no threat – but the…

Louise ParryBedfordshire, Hertfordshire and BuckinghamshireLucy North/PA MediaEmily Henders is taking part in a trial of T-cell therapy, which has proved successful in treating blood cancerA biology teacher and mother-of-two has become the first UK patient to receive a “gamechanger” therapy to treat multiple sclerosis (MS).Emily Henders, 37, from Bushey, Hertfordshire, was treated at University College London Hospital (UCLH) as part of a global clinical trial.Mrs Henders had experienced “really scary” relapse episodes since being diagnosed in December 2021 during which, she said: “My legs don’t work, I can’t walk.”Experts believe the targeted immunotherapy treatment could “transform” lives by slowing or…

Retail sales volumes have risen for the fourth month in a row, driven by consumers buying gold online and new tech gadgets. Monthly sales rose by 0.5% in September 2025, new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show, defying an expected decrease of -0.2%. “Although food stores saw very little growth, good weather in July and August boosted sales of clothing, while online retailing also did well,” said ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach. Tech sales were boosted over the summer by the launch of Nintendo’s long-awaited Switch 2 gaming console and Apple’s iPhone 17.Within non-store retailing, online jewellers…

MaryLou CostaTechnology ReporterGetty ImagesThere’s no shortage of plastic to recycleIn the plastic recycling industry, the casualties keep coming.Waste management company Biffa’s Sunderland plant closed in February after opening in 2022 at a cost of £7m, while rival Viridor closed its Avonmouth plant in 2022, Skelmersdale in 2023 and confirmed this summer that its Rochester plant would close, too.Like falling dominoes, plastic recycling plant closures have been endemic across Europe too: another big name, Veolia, will close its two German operations this year, while seven plastic recyclers closed in the Netherlands last year.Meanwhile, companies Borealis, Dow and Nester have all dropped…

The government’s goal of moving care from hospitals into neighbourhood health hubs is at risk because community services are under too much strain, the health and care regulator says.In its annual report, the Care Quality Commission said waiting times were too long and staffing too stretched in areas such as mental health, GP care and social care.The regulator said there was a real risk patients would suffer because these services would not able to cope with the extra demands.But the government said investment was being made to address the pressures.The 10-year NHS plan published in July set out a vision…

Watch: “It was time”, says Trump on increase in Russia sanctionsUS President Donald Trump has announced what he called “tremendous” new sanctions against two of Russia’s largest oil companies, in a bid to pressure Moscow into ending its war on Ukraine.The measures target Rosneft and Lukoil – two major oil corporations that help fund the Kremlin’s “war machine”, according to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.They represent the first direct interventions the Trump administration has imposed on Russia over its invasion, and have therefore been viewed as a geopolitically significant moment.But what do the new measures actually mean – for the…

Adrienne MurrayTechnology reporterAFP via Getty ImagesDenmark has taken measures to curb drone flyingIn the northern Danish city of Aalborg, the firm MyDefence makes equipment that jams and repels drones.”We’ve had a big surge of interest,” says chief executive, Dan Hermansen.He says that up until early October his company was mainly dealing with defence firms, but now it has “completely shifted”.The small, box-like kit made by MyDefence is mostly used by the military of Nato countries and Ukraine.However lately demand has grown from civilian customers.”It’s coming from critical infrastructure,” he adds, “from big companies, looking to protect their own assets”.The device…

British UFC fighter Nathaniel Wood opens up on his struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety, detailing how it has affected his MMA career.READ MORE: ‘Never be afraid to go doctors’ – Wood on ‘living nightmare’ OCDIf you have been impacted by issues discussed in this article, then please visit the BBC Action Line.